VALUE: �LIGHTING AS DIRECTION�LIGHT & SHADOWS for STORYBOARD/NARRATIVE ART
LOTS of OBSERVING…leads to Comprehension
Remember:
Value is Relative to what is around it.
Every color has a corresponding tone. (there can be various hues that share the same tone)
Break it down to simplicity:
LMD Light, Medium, Dark
TIPS ON APPLICATION OF VALUES:
Where is your focus in these images?
CONTROLLING LIGHTING
FOR TWO REASONS: CLARITY and INTEREST
Lighting
1. Basic lighting: the three-point lighting setup
KEY LIGHT
The key light is the light that registers most prominently in your frame. So, when you look at the image of Amelie below, you’ll see that the screen-right portion of her face is brightest. That’s the key light.
FILL LIGHTS
Quite simply, fill lights fill in the shadows of your frame. You’ll notice that the screen-left portion of Amelie’s face is in shadow, but with her features still plainly visible. That is a fill light at work.
BACK LIGHT
The back light gives an edge light to the rear portion of your subject. Often, the backlight shoots down from a higher angle. You can see that Amelie has a light contour along her shoulders and the nape of her neck. You’ll generally want to flank your camera with your key and fill lights, spaced about 60 degrees on an axis from your camera.
The cinematic types of lighting in film
Cinematographer's DECISIONS INCLUDES:
SOFT FILM LIGHTING
When talking about how a scene should feel emotionally, one thing that is referenced by cinematographers frequently is how hard or soft the lighting should be.
The hardness or softness of light concerns how large a light source is, and how it affects shadows on your subject.
Lighting from object to object in your frame -- is known as your lighting ratio.
DIFFUSED OVERHEAD LIGHTING
You can soften a light source with diffusion materials
to reduce shadows. This is good for conversational close ups.
HARD FILM LIGHTING
Conversely, smaller light sources, including bright sunlight, will heighten the shadows on your subject. Conservatively, this should be avoided. But it can also create dramatic effects, as was popularized in the classic film noirs, which featured suspicious and volatile characters…..and SO CAN PATTERNS ON THE FACE and BACKGROUND!
KICKER LIGHT WITH SOFT FILL
In this effect, the back light hits the
side of your subject’s face.
It can create an
angelic rim of light,
while a very soft
fill light keeps the
face gently
illuminated.
LOW KEY LIGHT
Low key lighting refers to minimizing, or eliminating, the fill light your shot so that it is intentionally “shadowy”. This can create dramatic, suspicious, or even scary effects.
Among the types of lighting in film, low key lighting is great for extracting mystery from the shot.
MOTIVATED LIGHTING
When cinematographers light a set, they always ask themselves where, within the scene, the light comes from.
They might, for example, choose to take the practical lights that are already in a location and elevate their effect. This is motivated lighting. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins is known for the motivated lighting choices. Consider this shot from his work on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford:
Lighting in this scene is motivated by the lanterns carried by the actors.
When motivated lighting is done right, the audience is unaware of the artifice at work.
Lanterns create motivated light sources that sell the lighting choices in The Assassination of Jesse James.
PRACTICAL SET LIGHTING
A practical overhead bulb lights the subjects in this wide shot from The Quiet, cinematography by M. David Mullen
Often times, using existing lamps and light sockets around the set can be used to light a scene.
This is referred to as
practical lighting,
and is particularly useful when you need to reveal wide portions of the set, or move around it in longer takes.
Practical lighting techniques at work in James Laxton’s cinematography in Moonlight
NATURAL FILM LIGHTING
Natural film lighting refers to using and modifying the light that is already available to you at your location.
Before you shoot, you can take your camera to the location to see how well the natural light holds up. You can decide from there how what additional lights you might need, or how you might adjust the light. For example, you can use bounce boards for reflecting the light, or black flags for blocking it out.
ASPECTS OF LIGHT AND TIPS:
Shadows and Cast shadows are an integral part of lighting direction. Cast Shadows are also a compositional device, or as I consider it, one of the best secret weapons for composition.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK: VERTIGO
ALFRED HITCHCOCK: VERTIGO
ALFRED HITCHCOCK: MARNIE & FAMILY PLOT
DIRECTIONAL LIGHT
Assists in Focal points AND adds Visual Interest!
(More Clear and NOT Boring!)
DAN MILLIGAN
DAN MILLIGAN
DAN MILLIGAN
DAN MILLIGAN
DAN MILLIGAN
DAN MILLIGAN
SEUNG EUN KIM
Rembert Montald